The present invention relates to a patient transfer apparatus for assisting in the movement (eg transfer) of an immobile patient (eg a hospital patient) on a supporting surface such as a bed.
Slide sheets may be used to move patients in a hospital, nursing home or other healthcare environments. The slide sheets are often used by nursing staff to help transfer patients who are unable to move themselves. For example, slide sheets may be used for lateral transfer of an immobile patient from a trolley to a bed, transferring the patient up the bed and turning the patient in the bed.
The use of a slide sheet provides various benefits including protecting health care staff from musculoskeletal injury. Their use may be a requirement of health and safety regulations and legislation. For example, in the United Kingdom the Manual Handling Operations Regulations 1992 require that slide sheets are used to move patients (in particular bariatric patients) in many situations. Slide sheets also help to maintain the patient's skin integrity. This is particularly important for elderly patients with fragile skin who may be unable to get out of bed and may develop bedsores from even the slightest abrasion. Slide sheets also contribute to the comfort of the patient during movement and allow movement to be conducted in a dignified manner.
Slide sheets are single use disposable (ie used just once), multiple use disposable (ie reused but disposed of when no longer required by that patient) and launderable (ie laundered and reused many times). The requisite slide sheet is chosen according to the movement that is being undertaken and the size of the patient being moved. For multiple use disposable and launderable slide sheets, it is common practice for hospitals to stock different sizes of slide sheets and for a patient to be issued with a set of slide sheets in various sizes to be used for the duration of their stay in hospital.
An example of a set of slide sheets is shown in FIG. 1. Three slide sheets 10, 12 and 14 are shown relative to a hospital bed 16 with typical dimensions of 200 cm×100 cm. The smallest slide sheet 10 is 145 cm×71 cm and the slightly larger slide sheet 12 is 200 cm×71 cm. The slide sheets 10, 12 and 14 are formed as tubes of material and are able to continuously slide by rotating around an axis 18. The direction of slide is therefore perpendicular to this axis 18. As can be seen from the directional arrows 20, the direction of slide for slide sheets 10 and 12 is in the direction of the longer dimension. Slide sheet 14 is the largest with dimensions of 200 cm×140 cm. In this case, the directional arrows 20 indicate that the direction of slide is in the direction of the shorter dimension.
FIG. 2 illustrates the three most common movements using a slide sheet. FIG. 2a shows two different arrangements of slide sheets 10, 14 for making a lateral transfer from a trolley to the bed 16. This can be achieved by using a single slide sheet 14 of the largest size or using three slide sheets 10 of the smallest size placed side-by-side. In both cases the slide sheet 14 or three slide sheets 10 cover the entire 200 cm length of the bed 16 and have a dimension in the direction of slide of at least 140 cm. FIG. 2b shows three arrangements of slide sheets 10, 12 and 14 for moving a patient up the bed 16. For a standard sized patient this can be achieved by using a single slide sheet 12 or by using two slide sheets 10 (where only a small portion of the second slide sheet 10 is used on the legs of the patient). For bariatric patients, the larger slide sheet 14 is required under the torso of the patient with a single small slide sheet 10 under the legs. Finally for turning a patient in bed (see FIG. 2c), a single slide sheet 10 placed under the hips and shoulders of a standard sized patient is sufficient to assist in making the turn. For bariatric patients, a slide sheet 14 is required.
Because a variety of different sizes of slide sheet are required to perform different movements of a single patient, it is necessary for hospitals and healthcare establishments to stock multiple slide sheets. As mentioned above, it is typical for slide sheets to be disposable either on the basis of a single use or multiple use for a single patient. In the case of a multiple use disposable slide sheet, it is wasteful to issue slide sheets to a patient which may be hardly used. This leads to stock handling issues for the hospital with the need to order and track the stock of various different sizes of slide sheet. Furthermore as can be seen from the illustrations in FIG. 2, healthcare workers are required to remember a variety of different combinations and orientations of the slide sheets for the different directions of movement. This requires a significant amount of training to be provided to healthcare workers to avoid the slide sheets being misused resulting in injuries to healthcare workers and patients.
GB-A-2300619 relates to a combined rolling transfer tube and laminar element for transferring a patient from one position to another. The laminar element can be moved linearly on top of the rolling transfer tube.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,005,232 relates to a pad made from a flexible puncture-resistant material for shifting a patient from one position to another. The sheet comprises a sealed, elongated and flattened enclosure.
U.S. Pat. No. 1,334,901 relates to a sheet for turning a patient. The sheet is placed under a patient and pulled by a healthcare worker so as to turn the patient to a different position.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,374,435 relates to a manually-powered patient conveyor for moving a patient laterally across a bed. The conveyor is in the form of a continuous belt. The belt is positioned beneath the patient and handles on the belt are used to pull the patient sideways form one surface to another.